Alumni communications officer jobs in oxford, oxfordshire

About the College:

Worcester College is one of the 39 constituent Colleges of the University of Oxford and is home to a vibrant academic community of around 75 Fellows, a lively and varied student body of around 400 undergraduates and 200 graduates, and a dedicated expert team of 150 professional staff, all representing a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The College strategy explains our forward-looking approach.  Our values are excellence, inspiration, community, inclusivity and trustworthiness. The College is situated at the heart of Oxford in a beautiful environment that the whole community enjoys.

Summary of role responsibilities and person specification:

Worcester College, University of Oxford, is recruiting for the key, senior role of Alumni Engagement Manager to be part of its Development and Alumni Relations team of seven. This is a vital role as we seek to deepen and expand connections with the College’s alumni community. The Alumni Engagement Manager will be responsible for the development and delivery of an alumni and supporter engagement strategy which aims to build relationships with alumni and donors to lead to greater involvement with the College through the giving of funds, time and expertise. The Alumni Engagement Manager also plays a vital role in ensuring donors to the College have a strong sense and knowledge of the positive impact of their generosity, so that their philanthropic giving to Worcester is a meaningful, enjoyable and positive experience.

 This is a senior role requiring a proven track record in managing highly effective alumni relations or similar membership programmes, including strong events and communications experience. The role requires the drive and creativity to use events and communications skills to deliver an innovative engagement programme. This varied role spans relationship building and donor stewardship activities, so also offers the opportunity to develop fundraising knowledge and experience. We are a very friendly team of seven in an ambitious college, with a real sense of purpose and a great deal of exciting work taking place.

Further details of the role and person specification can be found on our website.

If you would like an informal chat about the role, please feel free to contact Viola Kerr 

Closing date: Friday 2nd May 12pm

Interview date: Week commencing 12th May

Job Title: Alumni Relations Officer

Location: Rhodes House in central Oxford, Hybrid Working

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time

Salary: £33,000 - £37,000 per annum

Reports to: Global Programmes and Alumni Engagement Lead

We have a fantastic opportunity for an Alumni Relations Officer to join the Rhodes Trust, Oxford. This role will be a crucial part of the Global Programmes and Alumni Engagement team, working closely with the Global Programmes and Alumni Engagement Lead to deliver a suite of Alumni engagement activities, communications and events. The role includes opportunities for personal development.

We are looking for the successful candidate to start with us in as soon as possible.

About the Rhodes Trust

The Rhodes Trust is an educational charity which offers Rhodes Scholarships to exceptional students from around the world to come and study at the University of Oxford. Our mission is to build a better world through global fellowship programmes that develop and connect compassionate, innovative, and public-spirited people committed to solving humanity’s challenges.

In recent years, we have also partnered with several other remarkable organisations to create the Mandela Rhodes Foundation, the Atlantic Institute, the Schmidt Science Fellows and RISE.

The role

This role is varied, providing an opportunity to learn and understand many aspects of the Trust’s work and ecosystem. To be considered for this role you will be required to have proven experience of managing administrative processes for in-person or hybrid events, great interpersonal skills, a passion to learn and understand the community, as well as a good knowledge of online project management tools and CRM systems.

The role will be responsible for:

· Contribute to the Global Programming portfolio, supporting to deliver keystone Alumni events such as reunions, UK and global Alumni events, and supporting constituencies with less activity, ensuring a proactive calendar of Alumni activities

· Support with general administration as requested, particularly regarding the Global Alumni Advisory Board (GAAB) and Lifelong Fellowship and Impact Committee (LFIC) including coordinating meetings, drafting meeting agendas and minutes, printing or sending of presentations, collating of information for reporting, following up on action items and other communication materials as appropriate

· Monitor the Alumni mailbox and ensure a timely reply to all queries and requests directed to them (including connecting Alumni who are looking for other Scholars). Provide appropriate responses to a varied range of enquiries from community members by email, phone, post and in person. Tactfully and diplomatically recognise and quickly resolve any potential issues raised

· Under the guidance of the Global Programmes and Alumni Engagement Lead, lead on key Alumni engagement initiatives as required, for example the annual Meeting Minds Alumni Dinner

· Ensure that all Rhodes Alumni Associations are up to date regarding the activities of the Rhodes Trust and where appropriate and possible, provide Alumni Associations with administrative support for their key events and engagement activities. Manage day-to-day contact and services to the network of Alumni Groups and Alumni Associations

· Together with the Communications team, support with mailings, Rhodes Connect content and social media activity that ensures that Rhodes Alumni are up to date and engaged in the activities of the Rhodes Community

· Role modelling the Trust’s organisational values of commitment, inclusion, belonging, growth and innovation.

· Carrying out any other duties relevant to the role, as requested.

· A deep commitment to the values, ethos and mission of the Rhodes Trust.

Please view the job description for more responsibilities

Essential skills, experience and qualifications:

· Experience in event planning and delivery, both in-person and online and/or hybrid

· Proven experience with Microsoft packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), and online event platforms (e.g. Zoom)

· Excellent administrative skills with an ability to prioritise work and meet tight deadlines

· Ability to build strong working relationship with immediate colleagues, as well as with external stakeholders

Please view the job description for more essential skills 

Desirable skills and experience:

· Previous Alumni Relations experience, or experience working with communities

· Experience with Salesforce

· Use of email marketing systems (e.g. Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor)

We are open to transferable skills from other industries, so please consider applying if you don’t meet all of the Essential criteria.

Benefits of working here

We are a global organisation and we use our deep connections across the world to bring together people of different backgrounds and viewpoints. We encourage our staff to challenge each other’s thinking and generate new ideas.

· 30 days annual leave (pro rata) plus 8 bank holidays

· Competitive pension scheme

· Generous family leave schemes

· Private health insurance

· Employee Assistance Programme

· Personal development opportunities

· Additional benefits, such as free access to the University's gardens, parks, libraries and museums, and University staff discounts in shops across Oxford.

· Cycle to work scheme

· Electric car scheme

If you would like to find out more, please click ‘apply’ to view the full job description and to find the link to apply. Please send us your CV and a covering letter. Please note, this advert will close on 4 May 2025. Please note the interviews will take place on 12th and 14th May.

The Rhodes Trust is an equal opportunity employer. We warmly welcome applications from talented people of diverse backgrounds and appoint without regard to age, disability, gender, gender identity, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, parental status, marital or civil partner status, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, nationality, religion or belief.